Change
by needmoreYOUTH
Summary: An accidental meeting turns the life of Naruto Uzumaki around. Now that he has a friend, living on his own isn't so bad anymore. But what happens when that new friendship stirs up unwanted memories of his past? Naruto POV
1. A New Friend

An accidental meeting turns the life of Naruto Uzumaki around. Now that he has a friend, living on his own isn't so bad anymore. But what happens when that new friendship stirs up unwanted memories of his past? Naruto POV

**Hey guys! Thanks for reading my story! This idea has been in my mind for the better part of six months, and it's only now that I'm finding the time to write it all out. I am looking for a beta reader to help me with my stories, so if you are interested, please let me know. Please also feel free to give me suggestions, because as I have the general plotline of the story, it is those cracks that need to be filled in still that I will be needing some help with.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Chapter 1 – A New Friend

Naruto was walking through the village when he stopped, noticing a wallet on the ground. Wondering who the wallet belonged to, he picked it up and opened it, looking for some sort of ID. "Sakura Haruno, age 12. Future konoichi of Konoha" he mumbled to himself while reading off the card in the wallet, starting to walk towards the Academy.

When he got there, he went over to the swing and sat down, waiting for people to start exiting the building. The first people to leave were the younger children, who didn't even give him a second glance. It wasn't until a tired looking boy with hair that looked like a pineapple came out that anybody approached Naruto. He looked confuse, because he had never seen the blond before.

"I know it's troublesome to ask, but who are you? Why haven't I ever seen you here at the Academy before?"

Naruto chuckled, "The name is Naruto. The reason you've never seen me here before is because I've never actually been here myself. I'm looking for a girl named Sakura. You know her?"

"Sakura? Ya I know her, troublesome girl. I'll help you find here. There aren't any clouds today anyways."

With that he set off in the direction of Konoha's library. Naruto fell in step beside him. "So what's your name?" asked Naruto, starting a conversation to keep things from getting awkward.

"My name is Shikamaru Nara. Okay, so you're going to be looking for a girl with pink hair." With that he walked away, leaving Naruto to wonder about what he had said. Pink hair?

Naruto walked through the aisles for a while, and finally found a girl with pink hair sitting down at a table, leaning over a book. "Are you Sakura Haruno?" he asked, standing behind her. She turned around quickly, shocked that someone was talking to her.

"Ya, that's me. Who are you?" she questioned.

"My name is Naruto. I found your wallet on the ground when I was walking through the market. I wanted to return it to you."

Sakura looked shocked as Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out her wallet. She grabbed it, looking through it to see if everything was still there. Her eyes widened. "You didn't take anything? I'm surprised. Well I'm sure that most people wouldn't have even bothered to return it."

Naruto shuffled his feet, "Ya well I suppose I've been taught to be like that."

"Say…are you doing anything today? I want to treat you to something to eat. You like ramen?" Naruto nodded, surprised that someone actually wanted to hang out with him.

Sakura stood up, motioning for Naruto to follow her. She stopped to check out her books, putting them in her bag. They exited the library together, headed towards Ichiraku's, the Ramen Stand.

"Why hello there Naruto! The usual today?" Teuchi, the chef leaned on the counter, wondering what he was going to be making today.

Naruto laughed, "Not today, Teuchi. This is Sakura. She's treating me today, so I'm only going to get one bowl today."

"Ooh! So what did you do to meet such a lovely lady and get her to buy you food?" At this Sakura began to blush.

"Naruto returned my wallet to me, so I'm treating him today. I'll have a bowl of Beef Ramen." With that Teuchi returned to the kitchen to prepare their ramen.

"Let's play twenty questions…just to get to know each other. I'll start. What is your favourite colour?" Naruto leaned on his hands, waiting for Sakura to answer his question.

"Obviously pink haha. How about you? What's your favourite colour?"

"Orange. Definitely orange. So what is your favourite part of the Academy?"

"I like the history lessons. Especially about the Hokage. I want to be a strong konoichi someday. How about you? Do you go to the Academy? I've never seen you there before."

"The Academy? No. I work at the bookstore in the market. So which Hokage is your favourite?"

"Really? You don't go to school?" Sakura looked shocked, wondering why he didn't have to go to school.

By this time Teuchi had brought out their ramen, and Sakura took a bite before answering. "The Third. He is so smart, and he knows so many jutsu. Who is your favourite?"

Naruto slurped up the last of his ramen. "I really like the Fourth. He was a brave man, sacrificing his life for the village like he did. He's my hero actually."

Sakura finished her ramen and pulled out enough coins to cover the two bowls, placing them on the counter. "We should hang out again sometime. You seem like a nice person, and I'd like to be friends with you. Friends?"

"Ya, friends!" They both stood up and began walking.

"I should really head home. My parents are probably worrying about me. Bye Naruto! I'll see you later!" Sakura turned around and walked away, doing what seems like it would be impossible and melted into the crowd.

Naruto was left by himself. He slowly walked down the street towards his apartment, ignoring the looks he got from the villagers. He thought about what Sakura had said. Friends. She was the first friend he had ever made, and for that he was glad.


	2. Kitsune

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

Chapter Two – Kitsune

"Hey Naruto! Fancy seeing you here." Naruto was sitting at Ichiraku's devouring his eighth bowl of ramen that day, turned around when he heard his name. When he turned around he saw Sakura standing behind him, Konoha headband sitting proudly in her hair.

"Hey Sakura! How've you been? I see you graduated into a team. You like it so far?"

Sakura sat down next to Naruto, ordering a bowl of ramen. "Ya it's great! I'm on a team with Sasuke and Sai, two of the strongest guys in the year. Our sensei is really weird though. He's always really late, and always has is nose in his book.

Naruto perked up at this. "Shouldn't he be giving all he can to his team? I wonder why the Hokage would choose him as a sensei anyways. He's not a very good example for you guys."

"Hmm? Oh well, he's good enough. I'm just happy that I'm finally able to become a konoichi. Kakashi-sensei can really help me with that."

"Ya well I still think he should at least pay attention to you guys instead of reading all the time."

"Hey you know what? You should come watch our training session today! That way you can see a real shinobi in action. Besides, Kakashi-sensei has been telling us about some of his old missions. It'll be fun!"

Naruto hesitated. It wasn't like he was actually going to be doing anything today anyways. "Ya sure! Where should I meet you?"

"Do you know where training ground 7 is?" Naruto nodded. "Well that's where we train. Kakashi told us to be there at noon, so if you meet us there around two you should be on time. That sound good to you?"

* * *

Naruto was sitting on the ground, leaning against one of the three wooden posts in the training ground. He had gotten to the training ground half an hour ago, and surprisingly, Kakashi was there when he got there. Since they were in the middle of an exercise, Sakura had yelled a hello at him, telling him to make himself comfortable.

Finally the exercise finished, and the four of them came over to join Naruto, introducing themselves as Kakashi, Sai, and Sasuke. The three genin pulled out water bottles and joined Naruto in sitting on the ground.

"Sensei! Can you tell us about another one of your old missions?" asked Sakura, looking up at her sensei.

"Well I suppose I can. Hmm. Which story to tell you today? Oh! I got it! Have you guys ever heard about Kitsune?" The genin looked at each other, confused looks on their faces. "Well judging from your faces, I'd say no. Well Kitsune was an ANBU Captain, second only to the Hokage. Rumour has it that he was actually a candidate for the position of Fifth Hokage actually.

'Anyways, we were on a mission and we were cornered by a team of Iwa-nin. We were after the same target, and it had come to a confrontation between our two groups. When they saw Kitsune they laughed, telling us that a little kid wouldn't be able to defeat them. He got angry – Kitsune that is. So he told us to stand back and let him handle it. I don't think I've seen anyone except the Fourth move that quickly. One moment they were standing there taunting Kitsune, and the next they were all lying on the ground.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Sakura squealed, thinking back to what she knew about the Fourth Hokage, and how fast he was.

"Wait." Said Sasuke, speaking up for the first time. "You said that they thought he was just a little kid. Was he just really short or something?" All three genin looked at their sensei, curious and wondering what the answer was.

"Well he _was_ short – he was only eight years old at the time. It would make sense for him to be little."

"You mean to tell us that Kitsune was ANBU Captain when he was eight? Surely you're mistaken." Despite Sai's usual characteristic for being completely void of emotion, a little bit of curiosity had seeped into his voice.

"Ya that's right. He was a genius." Kakashi stopped talking, his facial expression thoughtful.

"So what happened to him, sensei? Is he still alive?" At Sakura's question, all eyes were back on Kakashi's face.

"Hmm? Oh, no. He quit after that mission. Nobody really knows where he is now. I think he decided to live his life as a civilian. Although I _did_ hear that if you found him, he would teach you something. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some errands to run. Practice is finished for today. We will meet for a mission tomorrow morning at 9am at the Hokage tower. Bye!" With that Kakashi left in a cloud of smoke, leaving the three genin and Naruto to sit there looking at each other.

"I say we find him. He was an ANBU Captain. Anything he teaches us could be incredibly valuable." Sakura looked at her teammates, waiting for their response.

"Hn. Sure. He could help me get stronger." Stated Sasuke.

"Sure why not. We could use this as training to find hidden targets."

Sakura turned to Naruto. "Gee. You've been awfully quiet this whole time. You feeling alright? I hope our training didn't make you sick."

"No I'm fine. I just remembered that I have some things that I still have to do today. See you later Sakura, Sai, Sasuke." Naruto got up and headed towards the market. He had gotten as far as a little bridge crossing over a creek when he spotted the silver-haired jounin.

"What the hell was that for Kakashi? Did you really have to tell them that much?" Naruto accosted Kakashi, turning him around and forcing Kakashi to look at him.

"What does it matter to you? You're just a civilian, Kitsune. You chose this life."

"Don't call me that. I left that name behind four years ago, and I don't want to ever use it again." By this time Naruto was seething, frustrated that Kakashi had brought up that particular part of his past. "I just want to forget everything. Why'd you have to tell them that I'd teach them jutsu?"

"They need help, Naruto. By telling them about Kitsune, I gave them someone new to look up to. They will want to emulate his abilities, because he is their age. Why would they want to copy an older guy like me? Anyways, it could help you too. There is conflict on the borders, and soon enough Konoha will need all the help it can get, including you.

* * *

When Naruto got home, he went into the back of his closet, and pulled out a box. He opened it, and a fox mask stared back at him. Could he do it? Could he become Kitsune one more time?

He gently pulled the mask out, ignoring the weapons and armour in the box. There were fangs in the fox's snarling smile, making the mask even more terrifying.

"I can do this," he mumbled to himself, "for Konoha."

**Hey thanks for reading this. I just thought I would let you guys know that in this story, Sasuke isn't has introverted as he is in the anime/manga, and that Sakura isn't a huge Sasuke fangirl. Please review, and feel free to send me ideas about what could happen in the story. I don't have everything planned out yet.**


	3. The Hunt

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

Chapter 3 – The Hunt

"Sakuraaaaa! Where are you taking me?" People stared as they saw a blond-haired boy being dragged through the crowd by a pink-haired genin. Naruto had been sitting eating ramen when Sakura had rushed in, told him to drop what he was doing, pay for his food, and come with her. She then proceeded to drag him through the village, never telling him where they were going or what they were going to do.

"Just follow me. Sasuke thinks he has an idea of where we might be able to find Kitsune." Naruto groaned. The three of them had been searching for any sign of Kitsune for the last three weeks – since Kakashi had told them about Kitsune – and had dragged Naruto into the search whenever they could. At first, Naruto had just gone along with it, letting Sakura drag him around, but lately he had been putting his foot down and resisting Sakura's attempts to get him to help.

"Come on! Don't you remember what Kakashi-sensei told us? If we find Kitsune, he would teach us something. I'm sure he would still teach you something, even though you aren't a shinobi."

"Just wait a second forehead! What is this about someone other than your sensei teaching you?" Naruto groaned as he saw a girl with a long blonde ponytail and blue eyes standing in the way, hands on her hips and glaring at Sakura.

"Well, Ino-pig, Kakashi-sensei told us about one of his old team mates. And guess what! He's around our age too! He retired already, and is living like a civilian. Apparently if you can find him, he'll teach you something." Sakura glared back at the blonde. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find my team mates."

Sakura took hold of Naruto's am once again and dragged him off. As he passed by the blonde, Naruto gave her a little wave. Soon they reached training ground where the two other members of team 7 were waiting.

"What took you so long? I didn't think it would take that long to find Naruto." Sasuke was impatient, glaring at the two of them as they approached.

"Well we ran into Ino-pig on our way here, and she wanted to know what we were doing." Sakura sat down, pulling Naruto with her. "Now tell us what you found out!"

"Well I was looking through some old files at my house and I noticed that Kitsune had worked with some of the Uchiha before. So I learned some things about him that were mentioned about him. I know he doesn't like to eat vegetables, and eats out all the time."

"Well that only describes a large portion of the village. Why am I even here anyways? I don't even _want_ to find Kitsune. He obviously left the shinobi ranks for a reason, and doesn't want to be reminded of it. Why else would he just disappear off the face of the earth? Sooner or later, you guys are going to get in trouble, and I don't want to be there when that happens." Everyone looked shocked at Naruto's outburst. They had never seen him angry before, so they just sat there with dumbstruck looks on their faces as Naruto stood up and left the training grounds.

"I still say we find him."

* * *

An hour later the three of them were walking through some of the less-used training grounds, in the hopes of finding Kitsune training in one of them. Sakura followed Sasuke and Sai as they crept through the trees. Suddenly she could _feel_ it. _He_ was near; there was a suffocating aura around the trio.

"What are you doing here?" She jumped at the voice, turning around as she jumped. Behind the team stood Kitsune – wearing regulation ANBU uniform with a fox mask fit securely on his face. As Sakura continued looking at him, she noticed that he had a black bandana on his head, hiding his hair from sight. He stood with his feet shoulder width apart and his arms crossed over his chest. Just by his voice she could tell that he was annoyed.

"Are you Kitsune?" Of course Sasuke would skip right to the point, eager to learn something new.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Depends on what you want." Oh for the love of kami ANBU dialect was difficult to dissect. They were always so cryptic, never letting you know exactly what they wanted or what they actually meant.

"We heard that if we found you, you would teach us something." Sasuke was good at hiding his terror. He stood his ground, staring Kitsune straight in the eye. "So fight me."

'_It's strange to hear him laughing"_ thought Sakura, _"it makes him seem human."_ As soon as Kitsune heard Sasuke's request, he doubled over laughing, causing everyone else to exchange looks, wondering if Kitsune was insane.

"And why would I do that? I could finish you off standing on one leg, one arm behind my back, and only using one finger."

"Hn. I want to test my abilities. Fight me."

Kitsune shrugged. "If you want to. Not my fault when I kick your ass." With that, Sasuke charged at Kitsune, clearly intent on harming him, but Kitsune just kept dodging his attacks, never throwing any punches himself.

"What's wrong, Sasu-chan? You too much of a baby to actually hit me?"

"It's Sasuke, not Sasu-chan. And how do you know my name anyways?"

"I don't think me knowing your name is very important. Isn't that right Sakura, Sai? For not being on duty for two years, I still hang around the village ya know. I _do_ pick things up.

"Have we ever seen you before? Seriously! Stay still dammit." Sasuke was getting frustrated, because he hadn't even managed to touch Kitsune, nevermind managing to injure him at all.

"Maybe you have, maybe you haven't. It's not like I go around going 'Hey everybody! I'm an ex-ANBU named Kitsune!' That would be idiotic, considering I never wanted to have to be a shinobi anymore. Stupid Kakashi, putting words in my mouth."

"But you'll still teach us something, right?" Sakura turned her eyes on Kitsune, giving him a pleading look.

Kitsune sighed. "Yeah I guess. Hmmmm. What to teach you…..OK. Lesson number one: There is only one way to learn, and that is through action. Ok. Well time for me to go. See ya!"

With that he disappeared, leaving the three genin with bewildered looks on their faces.

"Did that…just…happen?" Sakura looked at her team mates, both of them sharing her confusion.

"I believe it did."

* * *

"That was a great trick to pull on them, Naruto. When I told them that you would teach them something, I thought you would actually teach them something important, not just tell them some random stuff about life.

"Hey! My life lessons are super important! I wouldn't be alive without them!"

"I think that's actually due to the giant furball of yours."

"Oh shush. He may help a bit, but you _know_ it's my lessons that really do it."

"Yeah. Keep telling yourself that."

* * *

**Hey thanks for reading this third chapter of Change. Please send me a review telling me what you want to see in the story, and I'll try to incorporate them into the story.**

**Until next time,**

**needsmoreYOUTH**


	4. Snakes

**I know it's been a really long time since I last updated, but I've been stuck with writers block. And I'm sorry that this chapter is so short, but I just wanted to upload what I have already.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Naruto sighed as he looked at his surroundings. How on earth he had ended up having tea with the Third in the Hokage's office, he didn't know, but he had a feeling he knew the outcome.

"So how have you been, Naruto? It's been a while since I last saw you. Almost five years, if I'm correct."

"I've been good. Don't really do much. Lately all I do is go and watch team 7's training. Sakura seems to think that I would have made an excellent shinobi, had I gone to the Academy."

"Is that so? Well, I didn't invite you for tea just so we could talk about what is going on in our lives. I actually have a huge favour to ask of you."

Naruto sighed. Of course he needed a favour. Why else would the Third talk to him. "And that would be?"

'I need Kitsune to go assist Suna. They've been having snake problems lately. Just can't seem to get rid of them, so they've contacted us, asking for our help."

"But why Kitsune? Why not just send in a team of ANBU?"

"I am sending ANBU. Two captains actually – well, former captains. Kakashi will be joining you as well. I know you two work well together."

"I suppose the only thing I can do I accept. You know how much I hate snakes.

* * *

Naruto smirked as he made his way over to the ramen stand. Not only was he dragging Kakashi along, but it was time to finally decimate the snake that had been lurking around for far too long. The only downside was having to figure out an excuse to give Sakura as to why he would be gone. Visiting family was out…Sakura knew that he had none. Maybe he wanted to go and travel for a bit. That could work.

"Hey Naruto! How are you today?" Naruto looked up from his ramen to see team 7 seating themselves next to him.

"I'm pretty good. I'm actually thinking of going travelling sometime soon. Maybe even in a couple days. Just having trouble deciding where to go."

"Maybe you could visit Suna. Aren't we allied with them? I'm sure it could be nice there."

Naruto smiled. "I don't know about Suna. Apparently they've been having snake problems lately. I even heard that they are going to start sending out foxes and dogs after the snakes. Maybe they can either kill the snakes or scare them away."

Naruto almost laughed when he saw Kakashi stiffen. Apparently the Hokage hadn't talked to him yet. Oops.

"Really? I hate snakes. Don't go there." Sakura looked thoughtful. "Maybe just go around the Land of Fire. That could be pretty interesting."

"Awesome! It's a plan then!"


End file.
